Two Different Worlds
by cece1397
Summary: Loren Tate has it all. Great friends, an amazing family, and a promising life ahead of her. Eddie Duran, however, doesn't have these privileges. Can these two look past their differences and find common ground?
1. Chapter 1

Loren gets up to the sound of her alarm clock. She looks around her room, at all the awards she has won and the pictures of friends and family she loves so much. She gets out of bed and goes into her bathroom. Loren goes through her daily routine.

Brush Teeth

Wash Face and Moisturize

Shower

Put on her a make-up

Do her hair- A high ponytail with a thin navy blue headband

Get dressed

This morning, Loren decides on her navy blue pleated skirt and a crisp white button-down shirt that she tucks into it. Loren puts on her white knee socks and light brown oxfords. Loren grabs her bag, her books and goes to have breakfast. Her little sister, Kylie, who is two, squeals Loren's name. Loren smiles and sits next to her at the table. Loren says good morning to Nora as she puts a veggie omelet in front of her, along with a slice of wheat toast. Kylie is eating an Eggo waffle and has syrup all over her face.

Loren's father comes out of his room wearing his suit. He lays his suit jacket on the couch before he comes over to kiss his wife and two beautiful daughters.

"You're a mess!" Trent says as he kisses Kylie on the forehead.

"Is good Daddy." Kylie says as she reaches out with her sticky hands.

"And how is my brilliant daughter?" Trent asks as he kisses Loren's cheek.

"I'm good Dad."

"How are your college applications coming along?" He asks as he walks over to Nora, giving her a quick kiss before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Really good. I'm almost finished with Princeton and I sent in my apps for UVA and Brown last night. I still have to write my personal statements for Berkeley. I just have to get my thoughts together."

"That's great. I know it'll be hard to choose when you get into all of them." Trent says taking a sip of his coffee.

Loren laughs. "If I get into any of the schools."

"Sweetie, you're student body president, captain of the tennis team, head of the debate team, and you're number one in your class. They would have to be crazy not to take you. Not to mention, you have a perfect SAT score."

Loren blushes. She knows that her dad is proud of her and that he wants what's best for her, but he definitely has more confidence in her than she does.

Loren takes the last bite of her omelet and puts her plate in the dishwasher. She kisses everyone good bye and goes out to her car.

**Eddie's House**

Eddie gets up and drags himself to the bathroom. He lets the cold water sluice down his back. The water heater has been broken for a while and his Uncle can't afford to get it fixed. Eddie puts on the first thing he sees in his drawer, a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt.

Eddie walks downstairs where his uncle Ben has already started drinking if he even stopped the previous night. Since his parents died four years ago, Eddie has been stuck with his alcoholic Uncle, his only next-of-kin.

"Where are going?" His uncle Ben slurs.

"To school. It's Monday, but I guess you wouldn't know that since you're always drunk.

"Go to hell." His uncle says.

"I'll meet you there." Eddie says as he walks out the door and walks out to the bus stop. The bus comes and Eddie takes his normal seat in the back. He puts his earbuds in and shuts his eyes as he takes the long ride from his house to Midland Valley High School.

**Midland Valley**

Loren pulls into the student parking lot and she gets out of her car. She sees Melissa, Adrianna, and Chloe talking by Melissa's car.

She walks over to them. "Hey Lo!" Melissa says.

"Cute skirt." Adrianna says. "You have to let me borrow it sometime."

"Definitely." Loren says.

They walk into the school together, talking and giggling. Loren stops at her locker and puts one of her books away. Loren is walking backward and talking to her friends as they move down the hallway. She bumps into someone and hears a grunt. Loren quickly turns around and sees Eddie.

"I'm sorry." Loren says.

"You should be. Why don't you watch where you're going?" Eddie says.

"She said she was sorry." Chloe yells over her shoulder as Eddie keeps walking.

"He's such a jerk." Melissa says.

"And he's weird. He never says anything in class and he always looks so mean." Adrianna says.

Loren doesn't say anything. She just listens to her friends as they talk about Eddie Duran.

The bell rings so Loren goes to the Media Center because she has a few announcements to make about upcoming school events.

Once she makes her announcements, Loren walks to her first period and sits down. Most people hate starting the day with AP Calculus but somehow it relaxes Loren. After calculus, Loren goes to English and then Sociology. After Sociology, she goes to lunch to meet her friends. Loren sits down at their usual table and they start chatting. While they are talking, Cameron walks up to them. Cameron takes the open seat next to Loren and asks her about her weekend.

"It was good. I finished some of my applications." Loren says.

"That's cool. I haven't even started yet. I'm not sure what to do. Maybe you could help me Lo." Cameron says with a charming smile on his face.

"But your mom is an admissions counselor for UCLA." Loren says.

"Well yea but she doesn't know how teenagers think, you know. She would try to write my essays if I let her. I just think that it would do me a lot of good if you and I got together to work on them. What do you say?" Cameron asks.

"Sure. I could find time to help you." Loren says.

"Great. Let me know when you're free and we can set something up." Cameron says.

"Okay." Loren says.

Cameron stands up, smiling from ear to ear. As soon as he is out of earshot of the table, Melissa says "He's so into you."

"He's like totally in love with you." Adrianna says as she looks at her phone.

"You guys are ridiculous. We're friends. That's it." Loren says.

"You may be his friend but he definitely wants more." Melissa says.

"Okay. Change of subject." Loren says. "Tennis practice is going to suck today. It's supposed to be like ninety degrees by three o'clock."

"I know right. We're going to be so gross." Melissa says.

"But it will be so worth it when we crush Cramer High on Thursday." Loren says.

"And we get to wear super short shorts to practice. The cross country team always runs by the court during practice and the guys are always checking us out." Adrianna says.

"You're so boy-crazy." Loren laughs.

"I totally am." Adrianna agrees

They bell rings and they walk to American History together. They're all in the same class. Once everyone is seated, the teacher, Mr. Johnson, tells them about the project that they will have to do. "You will be assigned a significant event that we have talked about earlier this year. This will be like a midterm review, but it definitely doesn't mean that you shouldn't study any of the other notes that we've taken. You will have a month to complete this project you will be able to work with a partner.

Everyone starts chattering and looking around the room trying to make eye contact with their friends. Loren looks to her left and Cameron winks at her. Loren smiles and turns to face Mr. Johnson again.

"I will be choosing these partners." The teacher says.

The sound of lip smacking and "ah mans" fills the room as everyone stops being excited.

"I will read them out right now." Mr. Johnson says.

Adrianna is with Melissa, Chloe is with Tyler, and Cameron is with a girl named Jamie.

Mr. Johnson keeps reading down the list of partners until he finally gets down to Loren's name.

"Loren Tate and Eddie Duran."

All of Loren's friends look at Eddie and then look back at her. Cameron is glaring at Eddie, jealous because he got partnered with Loren.

"I want one person from each group to come up so that I can give you your topic and the rubric for your project." Loren looks over at Eddie and he is looking down and sitting at his desk.

Loren stands up and walks to Mr. Johnson's desk. She gets what she needs and makes her way over to Eddie's desk. She now sees that Eddie is reading.

"Hi." She says quietly.

Eddie looks up from his book. He glares at her and looks back down.

"We're doing our project on the Seneca Falls Convention and how it led to the empowerment of women in the United States." Loren says.

Eddie just keeps reading. "Well here's your copy of the rubric. We're supposed to be planning right now. Most of it has to be done outside of class but we have a few other class periods to work on it too." Loren sits down in the desk in front of Eddie. "We can plan together."

Eddie doesn't say anything.

"Well I already have a few ideas so maybe we could talk about them. If you have ideas, then we could talk about those too. We can just see where this goes and what the best course of action will be, that way we can…"

"Could you please just shut up?" Eddie says. "I'm not going to let your precious little grade suffer. I know people like you. You think that you're the only one who knows how to do anything right and that you should just do everything yourself. Well, you can do that but you don't have to worry. I'll do my part. Okay."

Loren can feel the tears begin to well in her eyes. She quietly turns around and picks up a textbook. She takes notes from the reading for the rest of the class and they don't say another word to each other. The bell finally rings at 3:15 so everyone rushes out of the class. Loren's friends notice that she's upset so they comfort her as they walk to the parking lot together. Loren tells them what Eddie said to her and they bad mouth him again. This time though, the word jerk doesn't seem to suffice.

When the girls get to the parking lot, they put their book bags in the car and grab their duffels for practice. Loren has calmed down and she seems to be getting over Eddie's comment. In fact, she starts to feel a little angry.

The anger fuels her game and dominates during practice. No one is able to beat her today. When practice is over, Loren feels completely at rest. She and the girls are walking back to the locker room when Cameron walks up with the guys on the track team.

"Damn Loren. You were pretty hot out there today." Cam says.

"Thanks." Loren says.

Melissa fills Cameron in on the Eddie situation and Cameron responds with "You want me to kick his ass?"

Loren laughs slightly. "That's really not necessary." Loren says.

"Are you sure because I could totally do that." Cam says.

"I have no doubt but I'm over it." Loren says. "Really."

Cameron doesn't say anything else. He just falls back with some of his track buddies and they talk as they walk back up to the school. They walk into the school and go in the locker room. Loren showers and gets dressed. She says good-bye to all of her teammates and walks out to her car.

As she drives home, Loren sees Eddie walking down the street. He walks quickly, looking as if he's in a hurry.

Loren keeps driving. When she gets home, Loren is first welcomed by Kylie, who is sitting on the floor playing. "Lowen." She says smiling. She stretches out her arms to say that she wants to be picked up. Loren puts her things down on the table beside the door and picks up her little sister. Kylie lays her head on Loren's shoulder.

"Mom!" Loren says.

"In the kitchen." Nora says.

Nora is taking the chicken out of the oven. "Hi sweetie." Nora says. "How was school?"

Loren thinks about both of the encounters she had with Eddie and feels a little uneasy. "It was fine." Loren finally says.

"Go outside." Kylie says.

"No sweetie. We're about to have dinner." Nora says.

"Outside Mommy."

"After dinner Kylie. I'll push you on the swings, ok." Loren says.

"Ok." Kylie smiles.

"She always listens to you." Nora says.

"I guess it's that sisterly bond." Loren laughs.

"I guess so. Could you get her cleaned up for me?" Nora asks.

"Yea." Loren says. Loren takes her little sister into the bathroom and cleans her hands. She takes off her play clothes and puts a pair of jeans and a pink shirt on her.

"You ready to eat?" Loren says.

"Yea."

Loren hears the front door open. "Daddy's home Kylie."

Kylie runs from her room and makes her way down the stairs.

"Daddy!" Kylie yells.

Trent turns around and picks up his daughter. "Princess! How are you?"

"Good. I go outside after eat."

"You are. Can I come?"

"Wif me and Lowen." Kylie says.

"I can't wait." Trent says. He kisses her on the cheek and puts her down.

Loren walks into the living room. "Hey Dad."

"Hey Lo. How was school?"

"It was okay." Loren says somberly.

"Are you sure? You seem upset." Trent says, clearly concerned.

"Yea Dad. I'm totally fine." Loren says smiling.

Trent puts his arm around Loren and kisses her forehead. "Let me know if you want to talk."

Loren wraps her arms around Trent's waist. "I will daddy. I promise."

**Eddie's House**

Eddie just got home from his shift at Olive Garden. He's a waiter and usually makes good tips because of the kindness he shows to his customers. All of the money Eddie has earned during the past year and a half. With paychecks and tips, Eddie has earned a little over $10,000. He wants to save enough to leave his Uncle after graduation.

Eddie showers and does as much of his homework as he can before he falls asleep.

**New story idea. Should I keep going? Comment please and tell me what you guys think. **


	2. Chapter 2

The entire week has gone by and Loren hasn't spoken to Eddie. She's afraid that he might say something to her in class and that she won't be able to keep her tears in this time. It's Friday and Loren is sitting at her desk. She looks over at him and he's reading just like he always is. Loren makes the decision to go over to him. She takes a deep breath and stands up. When Loren reaches his desk, she snatches his book and closes it.

"What the hell?" Eddie yells. Mr. Johnson looks up and gives Eddie a stern look. Eddie looks back at Loren.

She sits down in front of him, still holding the book. "Look, I know that you don't exactly like me, but we're partners and we have to make time to work on this project."

Eddie glares at Loren. "Fine."

Loren takes a breath. "Ok good."

"Today I'm working so I can't."

"And I have debate team today." Loren says.

"Really? Debate team." Eddie says.

"Yes." Loren says sternly.

"Whatever." Eddie says.

"Do you work on weekends?" Loren asks.

"Yes." Eddie ask.

"Hours?" Loren asks.

"A little personal, don't you think."

"Just trying to get this done." Loren says.

"I get off at five on Sunday. We can meet at 5:20." Eddie says. "Does that work?" Eddie sounds agitated.

"Yeah it does." Loren says.

"Good. Can I have my book back now?" Eddie asks.

Loren picks it up from her lap. "Jane Eyre." Loren says. "I love this book." Loren gives it back to him.

"Great, because I totally live for your approval." Eddie says condescendingly.

Loren rolls her eyes and stands up. She walks back over to her desk and continues doing some research.

**One Hour Later**

Loren is standing at the podium arguing for a woman's right to choose. She speaks for another five minutes before Tyler comes up to offer the counterargument. Loren sits down and listens to his argument. After they make their final statements, Loren talks with her team for a little while and then she rides home.

When she gets home, Loren hears Kylie squealing in the backyard. She takes her stuff to her room and then changes into a pair of Nike shorts and a t-shirt. Loren walks outside and kisses Nora. "Hi sweetie. Your dad's bringing home pizza. Does that sound good?"

"Perfect." Loren says.

"Push me Lowen!" Kylie yells from her swing set. Loren walks across the grass to Kylie. She pushes her back and forth on the swing until Kylie has reached her desires height.

Loren sits down on the other swing and slowly moves back and forth while talking with Kylie. Forty-five minutes pass before Trent comes outside with two pizzas (one is meat lovers, the other extra cheese). Trent has already changed into a t-shirt and jeans. Loren goes inside to get plates and cups while Nora gets the lemonade she made earlier. They eat and play in the yard until dark.

**Olive Garden**

Eddie is bringing food to one of tables that he's serving.

"Chicken Caesar, chicken parmesan, lobster ravioli, and macaroni and cheese for little Leslie here. I hope you all enjoy your meal." Eddie says.

"How can we not when we have a cutie like you taking care of us?" A middle-aged woman whose family is a regular at Olive Garden. They always ask for Eddie to be their waiter as well.

Eddie smiles. "Thank you mam. I appreciate that."

"For the last time, call me Corrine." The woman says.

Eddie smiles. "I'll ty to remember that. I'll be back around to check on you later."

Eddie walks around to his other tables and then goes back to the kitchen. "We need more breadsticks for table three." Eddie says.

"They're coming out of the oven now." One of the cooks says. He puts four breadsticks in a basket and hands it to Eddie.

"Eddie takes it and walks back out to the table."

When Eddie's shift is over, he is cleaning off tables. Amanda, a hostess comes up to him. Amanda is tall and slim. Her long blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail so her blue eyes stand out. She also has light brown freckles that dot her nose.

"Hey."

Eddie looks up. "Hey." Eddie has never had a girlfriend because he hasn't wanted to bring a girl in on life with his uncle. That and the fact that no girl has ever really gotten his attention.

"How's it going?" She asks.

"I've been fine. You?" Eddie asks

"Good, really good." Amanda says.

"Good." Eddie says, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"So I was thinking that if you aren't busy um…" she looks down and plays with her fingernail. "Um, I was thinking that we could get coffee or something on Sunday. I noticed that we both get off at the same time and I just thought…I thought that it would be I don't know… fun. We could talk, you know."

Eddie stands up. "I can't. I already have plans."

"Oh. With you girlfriend?" Amanda says sounding disappointed.

"God no. I don't have a girlfriend and it's just this girl from school. We have a project due and we have to work on it. She's little Ms. Perfect so I don't want to piss her off." Eddie says.

Amanda laughs. "One of those, huh?"

"Yea. She's something. She thinks that everything needs to be done her way and she's completely stuck up."

"That sucks." Amanda says. "Well maybe another day then."

"Yea, maybe." Eddie says.

Amanda walks always. She has been working at Olive Garden for almost a year and has had a crush on Eddie since her first day. She had been trying to work up the nerve to ask him out for a while and he rejected her. She's still hopeful though.

**Eddie's House**

When Eddie gets home, he sees the light from the television flashing from the living room. His Uncle is passed out in the recliner with an empty beer bottle in his hand. Eddie looks at him with disgusted look on his face. He walks up the stairs to his room and pulls out the sock that he keeps all of his money in. He puts the money from the check he cashed in into it. Eddie takes the sock and puts it back in the shoebox. Then he puts the shoebox under his bed. Eddie goes into the bathroom to shower and puts on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. He lies in his bed, thinking about his future. Eddie thinks about the life that he will have after graduation.

He falls asleep and dreams of graduation day because that is the day he will leave his uncle and never look back.

**Sunday Afternoon**

Loren is sitting down in front of the TV with Kylie who is intently watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She looks at her watch and sees that it is 4:30. She has been dressed for a few hours, just lounging around with Kylie. Trent and Nora are out grocery shopping but they aren't back yet. Loren calls Nora, but she doesn't answer, so she calls Trent. Unfortunately, he doesn't answer either.

It's 5:10 before Loren is even able to leave the house. She runs out to her car and puts the key in the ignition. Traffic is bad so Loren doesn't get to the library until 5:45. Loren parks and runs into the library. She scans the room and finds Eddie doing nothing other than reading.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." Loren says.

"Weren't you the one who said that we needed to pick a time and stick to it?" Eddie says spitefully.

"I know but I had to watch my sister until my parents got back and they ran late so…"

"As I thought, it's not your fault. Nothing is ever your fault, is it?" Eddie interrupts

"Look! I know you think you know me but you don't. I apologized and I would have been on time, but as I said, I had to watch my sister."

"Whatever." Eddie says.

"Why do you keep saying that? Do you know any other words?"

"Why don't we just start this project because the sooner it's done, the sooner we can stop talking." Eddie says.

"Whatever." Loren says mockingly.

Eddie looks up at her and rolls his eyes. Loren puts her bag down and sits on the opposite side of Eddie. Loren gets up to looks for some book.

Loren walks down one of the aisle and sees the book that she's looking for on the top shelf. She stands on her toes and tries to reach it but she can't. She is still reaching when a shadow appears over her. She looks over and sees Eddie.

"Does Little Miss Perfect need some help?" Eddie asks in a mocking tone.

"No. I don't need your help." Loren spits back.

"Are you sure?" Eddie says as he reaches up and puts his hand on the book Loren wants.

"Positive." Loren says.

"Fine." Eddie says. He takes his hand down and walks back to their table.

Loren reaches one last time. "Fine." Loren concedes. "I need your help."

Eddie turns around and he is smiling smugly. "What do you say?"

"Get the book down for me." Loren says as she crosses her arms.

Eddie puts his hand to his ear and says "What was that?"

Loren rolls her eyes. "Please."

"That's more like it." Eddie says. He walks over and gets the book for Loren. Loren takes it from him.

"Thanks." Loren says, giving Eddie a fake smile. She walks back over to the table they were working at and sits down. They spend the rest of the time silently taking notes, only talking when it was absolutely necessary. It's 7:30 when they stop.

"I should get home." Loren says. She closes the book she is using and reaches for her library card.

"Are you checking out the books you've been using?" Loren asks.

"I don't have a library card." Eddie says.

"You know you could sign up to get one." Loren says.

"What's the point? It's not like I come here that often. I get all my books from that little book store down the street."

"You know that book store? It's so old and beat up. I thought I was like the only person who knew about it." Loren says

"Of course you did." Eddie says.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that it's really out of the way. They have really interesting stuff there. I actually found a signed copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula there last summer."

"Really?" Eddie says.

"Yea. It's one of my favorites…after Jane Eyre." Loren adds.

Eddie nods.

"Anyway." Loren says. "I could get those books for you on my card. But you have to make sure to have them returned by the due date. I don't get late fees." Loren says

"Why am I not surprised?" Eddie says, smiling a little.

"Was that a smile I just saw?" Loren says like it's the most amazing thing in the world.

"Shut up." Eddie says with a nasty tone.

Loren's amused look turns into one of sadness. Loren clears her throat. "Just let me get the books." She finally says trying to keep her voice from shaking.

Eddie gives them to her and she takes them to the front desk. After Loren checks them out, she gives Eddie the books that he needs and they walk out of the library.

Loren says doesn't say anything. She just walks straight to her car.

Loren drives off as Eddie makes his way down the sidewalk.

**Monday Morning**

Loren takes one last look at herself in the mirror, checking out her outfit (a red polo with cropped black pants and black Tory Burch flats).

She slips on her black headband and fluffs her hair before walking out to breakfast. Everyone is sitting already. "Good morning." Loren says.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Trent asks.

"Yea." Loren says.

Loren eats the grapefruit she has for breakfast and kisses everyone good-bye.

When she gets to school, she walks in with her friends and they talk in front of her locker. While they are talking, Eddie walks by. Loren doesn't make eye contact and neither does Eddie.

Loren is in Sociology, which they never really do work in, and her teacher asks her to run something down to the office. Loren takes the hall pass and walks toward the office. As she is walking, Eddie comes out of the bathroom and they can't help looking at each other. Loren decides to keep walking, but Eddie does something that she doesn't expect. He comes after her.

"Loren."

"What? You didn't trash me enough last night, now you want to do it again?" Loren says.

"No, I just…"

"Don't even bother. All I've tried to do this past week is be cordial to you and you repay me by stomping on my feelings and making me cry.

"I made you cry?" Eddie says in disbelief.

"Just forget it. I don't even know why I'm wasting my time. It's not like you care." Loren keeps walking down the hall toward the office while Eddie walks back to class, feeling like a complete jerk.

**I still had some ideas so I couldn't resist writing chapter 2. Hope you like it. Comment**


	3. Chapter 3

Loren is sitting with her friends at lunch when she realizes that she doesn't have her history book, she won't be able to get it on her way to class because Mr. Johnson's class is on the other side of the school.

"I'm going to get my history book. I forgot to grab it on my way here."

"Ok." Melissa says.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Chloe asks.

"No. It's fine. You guys stay here." Loren stands up and walks to her locker. She almost reaches it when she is pulled into an empty classroom. When she gets her bearings back, Loren sees Eddie standing in front of her.

"What did you do that for?" Loren asks.

"You've been avoiding me." Eddie says.

"Of course I've been avoiding you; you hate me. I'm not stupid enough to keep hanging around someone who wants nothing to do with me."

"I don't hate you." Eddie says.

"Okay, dislike. Is that better? Loren spits back.

"God, you have an attitude." Eddie says.

"Me? You're infuriating. You always have something smart to say or some irritating comment. You've been a complete jerk, a nuisance… a… a complete jackass." Loren says. "Great you made me curse."

"You've never cursed?" Eddie says.

"No. I've never had a reason to. I just don't see the point."

"Wow. I hate to be the one to break your precious little vow to yourself."

"See! There you go again. You're being sarcastic and rude. Why am I even here anyway?" Loren asks.

Eddie looks down at his shoes and taps the toe of his sneaker on the floor. "I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." He says it dryly and avoids eye contact with Loren.

Loren's arms are crossed. "And?" She says.

"And what? That's it."

"Fine. But I don't accept your apology." Loren says.

"Why? Was my apology not perfect enough for you?"

"That has nothing to do with anything. It wasn't sincere." Loren says.

"But you had it planned in your head. You want everything in your life to be perfect. You're rich so you're pretty much there. I hate to break it to you, but there are just some things you can't control." Eddie yells.

"Having money does not make life easier. And so what, I like to have structure. Yes, I make plans and I try to stick to them. I set goals for myself and I do my best to achieve them, but that has nothing to do with perfection. I don't want perfection; I want structure. Does it make me a bad person?" Loren says.

"I guess not." Eddie says.

Loren is wiping a tear from her cheek when she begins looking around her. "Why are we in here?" Loren asks.

"What?"

"Why are we talking in this classroom?" Loren asks.

"I figured that that's what you would want." Eddie says as if it is completely obvious.

"Why?"

"So no one will see us. It's no secret that your friends don't like me."

"Because you've given them so many reasons to believe that you're a good guy." Loren says sarcastically.

"Ok. I deserved that but I didn't think that you would want them to see you talking to me. They would probably stop talking to you or something." Eddie says.

"There my friends so I would like to think that they are understanding and supportive. But if they did have a problem with it, I wouldn't let it affect me as a person." Loren says.

"Well I really am sorry. I'm sorry that I judged you. You didn't deserve that." Eddie says.

Loren presses her lips together. "Thank you." She finally says.

Eddie nods.

"But for future reference, let's not talk in an empty classroom. It's kind of creepy."

Eddie laughs. "Yea, it is."

Loren turns around and begins walking toward the door.

"So are we cool?" Eddie asks before she leaves.

Loren turns around. "Yea, we're cool." Loren says. She walks out the door and goes to her locker. The bells rings while Loren is at her locker and she walks into World History by herself.

"Where were you?" Chloe asks. "You never came back."

"Yea, I got caught up." Loren says.

"Doing what?"

Loren looks over at Eddie who is searching through his backpack for something. "I was talking to Eddie."

"About the project. Is he still being a dick?" Adrianna asks.

"He actually apologized for the way he's been treating me." Loren says.

"Seriously?" Chloe says.

"Seriously." Loren says

"Well that's good. Maybe your project will go along more smoothly now." Melissa says.

"Hopefully." Loren says.

Mr. Johnson goes through his lesson, stopping to answer questions when necessary. When the bell rings, Cameron walks up to Loren. "So Lo, we haven't talked about a time to work on applications. Maybe we can do something this weekend." Cameron says.

"Oh uh…" Loren begins.

"Loren." Loren hears someone call from behind. It's Eddie.

"Can we talk for a sec?" Eddie asks.

Loren looks at Cameron. "Give me a minute?" Loren says.

Cam nods. Loren walks over to Eddie. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking that we should probably set up a time to work on our project this weekend. I'm off on Saturday so I was thinking we could meet at the library." Eddie says.

"I actually have to watch my sister this weekend. My parents are going away for the weekend and it's just us." Loren says.

"Oh, ok. That's fine." Eddie says.

"But we could work at my house if you want. If you don't mind a two year-old jumping all over you of course." Loren says.

Eddie laughs. "I think I can handle it."

"Just know that I warned you. And let me give you my address. " Loren says as she pulls a pen and a pad of sticky notes from her bag. Loren writes down her address and gives it to Eddie. "Come by at noon."

"Ok." Eddie says. He takes the sticky note.

Eddie walks down the hall and Loren turns back to Cameron. "I'm really sorry, but I need to get to tennis practice. Can we talk after?"

"Yea. Sure." Cameron watches as she walks quickly down the hall. Cameron walks in the opposite direction because he has to go down to the track.

**After Tennis Practice**

Loren is at her car, getting ready to get in when she hears Cameron call her name. "Glad I caught you. Can we set a date to get together? I was thinking Saturday."

"I can't. Eddie is coming over so that we can work on our project." Loren says.

"So you're seriously letting that dude into your house? You sure that's a good idea?" Cam asks.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the guy's probably a clepto. You should watch out."

"That's really mean. You don't even know him."

"Neither do you. I mean, not really." Cam says.

"I don't have time for this. I need to get home." Loren gets in her car and drives off.

**Olive Garden**

Eddie is doing his usual thing. He goes from table to table, filling water glasses and serving dishes. The rush starts to die down by the nine, so Eddie takes a break and sits at the bar. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and unto his knowledge, the sticky note with Loren's address falls out with it.

Amanda sees the paper fall out and goes over to pick it up, seeing it as a chance to talk to Eddie. She picks it up. "You dropped this." Amanda says as she hands it to Eddie.

"Oh, thanks." Eddie says as he takes it.

"What is it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Just an address." Eddie says.

"Oh. Well, I was thinking that we could have that coffee soon." Amanda says.

"I'm not really a big coffee drinker, so…"

"We could do hot chocolate." Amanda cuts in.

"Um, sure I guess." Eddie says.

"Great. When?"

"How's Saturday, around 6." Eddie says.

"Sounds perfect." Amanda says. "I can't wait."

"Yea." Eddie says. "I should get back to work now."

Amanda watches him as he walks back to the kitchen. "Eddie Duran, you will be mine." Amanda says to herself.

**Loren's House**

Loren is in her room doing homework when Trent walks in. "Hey sweetie."

"Hi dad." Loren says.

"So I heard from your mother that you have a boy coming over this weekend." Trent says.

"We're just working on a school project. It's not what you're thinking, trust me." Loren assures him.

"Well why not?"

"What?" Loren says.

"You are a beautiful girl and that boy would be lucky to have you." Trent says proudly.

Loren laughs. "Only you could scold a guy for coming over and then scold him again because he doesn't want to date me."

"Well I know how special you are and he should too."

"I know dad." Loren says.

"Well I'll let you finish your homework. I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Ok, I love you." Loren says.

"I love you too." Trent says. He leans down, kisses Loren's forehead and walks out of the room.

Loren keeps working on her homework until everything is done and then she goes to bed.

**The Next Day (The school hallway)**

Loren is at her locker when a big piece of fuzz appears in her face. Loren looks to her left and sees Cameron who is now holding the bear in front of him. She sees that it is holding a little jar of Hershey's kisses. 'I'm sorry' is written on the jar.

Loren crosses her arms and looks at Cameron, awaiting his apology.

"I am sorry." Cameron begins. "I was out of line and I had no right to question your judgment. Is there any way that you can forgive me?"

Loren looks at Cameron, then at the jar of chocolates. You know I can't resist chocolate." Loren says.

"I know. That's why I bought this one." Cameron smiles.

Loren smiles too. "I forgive you." Loren says. Cameron holds the bear out to her, which she takes, and then he holds his arms out to Loren. She hugs him and then puts the bear in her locker. She takes a piece of chocolate from the jar and closes it.

They are walking down the hallway, talking, when Loren makes eye contact with Eddie. She smiles and he smiles back as they pass by each other. Cameron notices this interaction.

"So are you guys like friends now?" Cameron asks.

"I don't know. We're civil to one another. I think that he thought that I was someone I'm not. He was judging me based on all these preconceived notions. We have an understanding now, though." Loren says.

"And what's that?" Cam asks

"Nothing is particular. He just knows that I'm not like that." Loren says.

Cameron nods. "I see."

Loren looks at him and smirks. Before she can say anything, though, the bell rings for first period. The day goes on and Loren doesn't even think about Cameron's comment anymore.

**It's a little shorter than the other two, but I wanted to get one more chapter to you guys before my winter break ended. Hope you guys like it. Comment and tell me what you liked and what you might want to see in future chapters.**


	4. Chapter 4

Eddie stands in front of the massive brick house. The columns in front are a bit intimidating as he walks up to the front door. Eddie rings the doorbell and waits. The large door finally opens and Loren is on the other side.

"Hi." Loren says.

"Hey." Eddie says back.

"Come in." Loren moves out of the doorway and Eddie sees an interior that is just as grand as the exterior.

Eddie walks inside and pulls his bag more tightly over his shoulder.

"I'll be right back. Just let me get my laptop." Loren says.

"Ok." Eddie walks over to the table that Loren has set up for them to work at.

Eddie props his bag up on the chair and pulls out the books that Loren checked out. He puts everything on the table. When he turns around he sees a little girl with blue eyes and dark brown hair staring at him. Eddie smiles.

"You must be Loren's little sister." Eddie says as he kneels down to her level. "What's your name?"

"Kylie." She says.

"That's a pretty name." Eddie says.

"Who are you?" Kylie asks.

"I go to school with your sister. We have to work on a project." Eddie says.

At that moment, Loren comes around the corner with her laptop. "I see that you've met Kylie. Did you say hi?" She asks her sister.

Kylie shakes her head. "Yes."

"Good. Now Eddie and I will be working over here and I got you something."

"What?" Kylie says, getting excited.

"Loren walks over to the DVD case and pulls out the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD that she got for Kylie.

"Mickey!" Kylie squeals. Loren smiles at her little sister. She puts the DVD into the Blu-ray player and walks back over to the table. It's like Kylie is memorized by the show.

"She's cute." Eddie says.

"Thanks." Loren says. "Should we start?"

"Yea, so I found a lot of information on Susan B. Anthony and other women in the votig rights movement from this website. I printed it all out and I figured that we could just go through it and see what we find." Eddie says as he pulls a folder from his backpack.

"That sounds good." Loren opens the folder and pulls out the paper. She looks through them and highlights the things that they are going to include in their project.

"So I have an idea about the layout for the project…if that's ok." Loren says.

"You don't have to be self-conscious. I was a douche before; I admit that. Now what's your idea?" Eddie says.

"Well I was thinking that we could make a timeline of the events leading up to the convention and what happened during. Then after the timeline, we could explain how the events led to the empowerment of women."

"I like it." Eddie says. "We can print pictures and the timeline info can be like the captions."

"Sounds good. I bought a tri-fold board. It's in my room if you want to use that."

"That's perfect."

Loren goes to her room and grabs the boards. "You can look up info and type. Then I can organize as we go along."

"Good plan Tate. Maybe your perfection will come in handy on this project." Eddie jokes.

"I told you I'm not…" Loren begins.

"…a perfectionist. I know." Eddie finishes. "I was just messing with you."

"You're a jerk." Loren says.

"So I've heard." Eddie smiles.

"Just get to work." Loren says. Eddie and Loren have been working for about an hour when Kylie comes out of the living room.

"No more Mickey." Kylie says. "Can I pway wif you?"

"We're not playing Ky. We're working on a project for school."

"I wanna color." Kylie says.

"I don't have anything for you to color with." Loren says.

Kylie pokes her lip out. Eddie looks at her. "I have markers in my bag." Eddie says. I thought we might need them for the project but she can use them if she wants."

"Are you sure?" Loren asks.

"Yea. It's no big deal." Eddie says. He pulls the box of markers from his bag and gives them to Kylie.

"Thank you." Kylies says.

"You're welcome." Eddie smiles at Kylie.

"I'll get you some paper." Loren says. She goes to her room and brings back a stack of paper.

"Go nuts." Loren says as she hands the paper to her sister.

Eddie and Loren continue working. They get up every once in a while to refill their water glasses and Loren gets snacks for them to eat while they work. By the time they take their first major break, it's 4:30. They've gotten a lot done, but they still have quite a way to go.

"It looks good so far." Loren says.

"Yea, it does." Eddie agrees. "Should we meet up again next Saturday?"

"I can't. I have a tennis tournament next weekend. We leave on Friday and we come back Sunday." Loren says.

"Oh well…um."

"We could do some more today and then meet up sometime this week. Any day, Monday through Thursday." Loren says.

Eddie thinks for a moment. "I can do that."

"Great, but right now I'm totally starving. Are you hungry Kylie?"

"Yes."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Micksters" Kylie says.

"What's Micksters?" Eddie asks.

"She means McAllister's. She just can't say it." Loren says.

"Oooh." Eddie laughs.

"I'll take you." Loren says. "Do you want to come Eddie? We can come back right after and do some more work…if you don't have plans that is."

After considering the invitation, Eddie finds himself saying yes.

"Ok. I just have to get her dressed and then we can go." Loren says.

"Ok."

When Loren leaves the room, Eddie pulls out his phone and texts Amanda.

**Sorry but I can't make it. Something came up. See you tomorrow.**

Eddie slides his phone back into his pocket and picks up the markers that Kylie was using. He puts them in the box and puts the box on the table. Once he finishes cleaning, Loren comes around the corner with Kylie on her hip. "You didn't have to clean up." She says. She puts Kylie down and she grabs Loren's keys from the coffee table.

"It was no big deal."

"Well thank you." Loren says.

Eddie smiles and shrugs his shoulders. Loren takes her keys from Kylie. "Thank you."

They walk outside. Eddie gets in on the passenger's side while Loren straps Kylie into her car seat. Once she is strapped in, Loren gets in, starts the car, and drives off. When they get to McAllister's Loren unstraps Kylie and takes her hand as they walk across the parking lot.

"Do you want mac n' cheese today?" Loren asks Kylie

"Yea. Mac n' cheese!" Kylie says.

"I thought so." Loren orders what Kylie wants and then orders a chicken Caesar salad for herself. Eddie orders a chicken club with chips. As they wait for their food, Kylie starts talking to Eddie.

"You like Macawoni and cheese?" It was more of a statement but Eddie can tell it's a question by the way she looks at him to respond.

"I love it." Eddie answers. "But do you know who has the best Mac n' cheese ever?"

Kylie shakes her head.

"Olive Garden. It's the best stuff you'll ever have."

"I want some. Lowen, I want some." Kylie says as she looks at her sister.

"We can go there one day. We can go when mommy and daddy get back." Loren says.

Kylie smiles.

The server brings out their food and they begin to eat.

"So how long have you worked at Olive Garden?" Loren asks before eating a fork full of salad.

"About a year and a half." Eddie answers, quick and to the point.

"Do you like it?" Loren asks.

"Yea. You get to know some families who are regulars and they leave good tips so that's always good." Eddie crunches on a Lay's potato chip.

"Does it ever feel overwhelming, you know with school and everything?" Loren asks.

"Geez, what's with the twenty questions?" Eddie asks in an inquisitive tone.

"Sorry, just trying to make small talk. My friends tell me I talk too much when I'm nervous." Loren says

"Do I seriously make you nervous?" Eddie asks.

"Well no, but… I… um… nevermind. It's really not important." Loren says.

Eddie looks at her. "I'll do my best not to be such a… what were the words you used? Oh yea. A complete jackass was it?" Eddie says.

Loren looks at Kylie quickly, but she doesn't seem to have heard anything. She is eating away at her macaroni.

"Not in front of my sister please." Loren says.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't thinking." Eddie says. He takes another bite of his sandwich in order to avoid the awkward silence that ensued. The sound of the two chewing and Kylie's clinging fork were the only noises for a good five minutes.

The silence is then broken by none other than Kylie. "Can I have a cookie." Kylie asks.

"Kylie you're not even finished eating yet."

"Pwease." Kylie begs.

"Finish your macaroni. Then we'll see." Loren says.

Kylie shakes her head and goes back to eating. "She really listens to you." Eddie says.

"Yea. It's a gift. My parents say it's a sister thing. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Loren asks.

"No. It's just me."

Loren nods.

Eddie is really glad that Loren stops the conversation there because he doesn't want her to ask any questions that could open up any more parts of his life. His business is his own and that's the way he wants to keep it.

Kylie scrapes her bowl as she finishes her macaroni and cheese.

"Lowen, can I have a cookie pwease." Kylie pleads.

"Fine." Loren says. "But no more sugar after this, okay."

"K" Kylie is smiling from ear to ear as Loren stands up and takes her to the register. Eddie takes his cell phone out of his pocket and sees that he got a message from Amanda. It read:

**Hope everything is ok. I guess we'll just take another rain check. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow.**

Eddie shifts in his seat. He didn't want to hurt Amanda's feelings but he had to finish more of the project with Loren. He had to.

Loren comes back to the table holding Kylie's hand. Kylie's other hand is holding a large chocolate chip cookie. "Are you ready to go?" Loren asks Eddie.

"Yea." Eddie answers.

They walk outside to Loren's car and get inside. When they get back to Loren's house, they work for another two hours. The heading, along with pictures for the timeline are on the board.

"We got a lot done. Good job Duran." Loren says.

Eddie laughs. "Thanks… Tate."

"So we'll figure out a day to finish this before Friday?" Loren says.

"Hopefully." Eddie says.

"Well text me. We can set a date." Loren says. "Can I put my number in your phone?"

"Yea, I'll put mine in yours too."

They put their numbers in each other's phones then give them back. "I better get going." Eddie says.

"It's getting dark. Why don't you let me give you a ride?" Loren offers.

"Thanks but I don't need one."

"It really would be fine. I don't have a problem with it."

"Yea, but I don't need you to. It's good exercise anyway."

"Are you sure?" Loren asks.

"Positive." Eddie says.

"Ok. I guess I'll see you on Monday then."

"See you Monday." Eddie says.

Eddie grabs his bag and heads toward the door.

"Bye Eddie." Kylie says.

Eddie smiles. "Bye Kylie. It was nice meeting you."

Kylie smiles.

"Bye Loren." Eddie says before walking out the door.

"Bye."

When Eddie is gone, Loren takes the poster and her laptop back to her room. "You ready to go to bed kiddo?" Loren asks Kylie.

Kylie shakes her head. "Well if you don't get ready for bed, then you won't be able to have a bubble bath."

"I'm weady." Kylie says.

"That's what I thought."

Loren picks Kylie up and takes her to the bathroom. Loren bathes her sister and puts her in her pajamas. Afterwards, she tucks Kylie in. She kisses her good night and then goes across the hall to her own room.

**Eddie's House**

Eddie walks through the door and walks toward the stairs.

"Where the hell have you been?" His uncle asks him.

"None of your business."

"I'm the one who has to take care of you so it is my business."

"Since when do you care about the places I go anyway? Why don't you just go back to being drunk all day? That's what you're good at." Eddie says.

"You think you can disrespect me in my own house?" Eddie's uncle stands up and drunkenly stumbles toward Eddie. You are an ungrateful little basturd. The only reason I took you in after Katy died was because of the money, but that's not even worth it since you're such a pain in my ass."

"Well you won't have to worry about me for that much longer because I'll be gone as soon as I graduate. The sooner I get away from you, the better." Eddie says coldly.

"That'll be the day." Ben slurs. He stumble back over to his chair and picks up the beer bottle beside his chair.

Eddie walks up to his room and he is fuming. He runs his hands through his hair and sits on his bed. He takes a quick shower to calm himself down. When he walks back into his room, his phone buzzes. When he looks, the message is from Loren.

_**Hope you got home ok. Have a good night.**_

The side of Eddie's mouth curves up and he texts her back.

_**I did, thanks. You have a good night too.**_

Eddie puts his phone down and puts on a t-shirt and boxers. He lies in bed thinking until he finally falls asleep.

**Hope you guys liked this chapter. Tell me what you like and what you'd like to see. Can't wait to hear from you guys.**


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